


Unpredictable

by MusicallyMagic



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 01:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18356207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicallyMagic/pseuds/MusicallyMagic
Summary: Ryder, a whirlwind who's taking Heleus by storm, one reckless idea at a time. All while trying to let the Angara know that she'll do anything to help them. Even if it means taking a bullet.





	Unpredictable

**Author's Note:**

> Did a re-read of this and discovered I didn't completely fix names when I was first writing this. So names updated as well as some minor text fixes.  
> Follow me on Tumblr @musically-magic for more up to date posts and peeks at WIPs!

Brette Ryder wasn't what anyone expected of Alec Ryder's daughter. The young woman barely reached 5’4, and was an unpredictable bundle of hell in knee high boots. A headache to her superiors, unforgivingly stubborn when she was set to a task. Snarky as hell but sweet as candy. 

Jaal couldn't make sense of her, making jokes with Liam one minute then fiercely arguing with Lexi in another. On the field, she made less sense. A flurry of blue hair and dark skin running around, throwing biotics with one hand and shooting a pistol with the other. The most unpredictable person he had ever known.

He was still wary to trust her as they fought their way through Havarl's jungle. Encounters with wild animals, Roekaar, and Remnant left himself, Peebee, and Ryder exhausted but they all knew they had to keep going. Had to reset the vault as Ryder kept reminding them every few hours.

It was in a fight against a group of Roekaar that Jaal finally got to meet Brette Ryder, not the ever stoic and professional Pathfinder Ryder that he knew.

Everything had been going fine, the three of them had been fighting in the jungle enough that they had picked up on each other's movements and battle habits. The battle looked in their favor, until a Roekaar managed to flank them. Jaal didn't know something was wrong until a gun fired from behind. He expected pain as soon as he heard the noise but all he felt was a light body crash into him, startling enough to knock him forward.

Those few seconds afterward were filled chaos and the echo of another gunshot through the trees. As soon as his senses cleared and the weight was gone from behind him he turned to see the Roekaar collapse, Peebee off to the side, gun aimed where the Roekaar had been standing.

Their eyes met for a moment, Jaal broke eye contact first to see Ryder lying on her back below him, her chest plate marked with holes and indentions where the shattered burst of bullets from a close ranged shotgun had struck her.

“Get help….” He jumped a bit, hearing Ryder's wheezing voice. He honestly thought the shot killed her. The Pathfinder's gaze focused on Peebee. “Now….” Peebee took off like a bullet back where they had come from. Jaal looked down again to see her eyes focused on him. “C-Can you...help me...sit up?” 

Her voice was broken but he obliged, any mistrust of her melted away. She had taken a bullet meant for him. Right now, she deserved his trust. Skutt, she could be dying for all he knew. He sat on the damp ground and carefully pulled her to lean against his chest. He carefully worked to try and loosen her chest plate, to get a better view of her wounds when he noticed her paling face and closed eyes.

“Pathfinder?”

No answer

“Ryder?” Worry was beginning to mount, he hoped Peebee could be quick, Ryder might not have enough time at this rate.

“Brette?” This time he was greeted with a strangled noise of pain.

“'m wake….” She mumbled, her purple hued blue eyes opening to slits and focusing on him. Pain shone in what he could see of her eyes but they were closing again. She had to stay awake.

"Tell me about your family?" He was grasping at anything, trying anything to keep her eyes open, to keep her with him. The question made her focus on him again, eyes opening up to show more of their gleaming hues.

"My...family..." She stares at him for a few heartbeats and he almost apologized—the feeling of overstepping an unspoken boundary washed over him—however she spoke again. "My brother, Breck, he's the one who gave me these scars." She carefully tapped her right cheek where five scars were scattered under her eye.

"What happened?" He pressed gently, that drew a weak chuckle from her.

"Well..."

 

_Brette and Breck were barely 18 when they had entered the Alliance Navy. The twins were still tied at the hip back then, going through basic training together. It had been in one of their final basic training missions that things went wrong._

_They had been split up, their Commanding Officer wanting to see how the twins worked as leaders when they didn't have the other. She had no desire to lead anyone but this was the only way for her to get out of training so she did it. It was a simple task, grab the suspect and go. She was wary to do this without Breck at her side but she knew they'd rendezvous at the attack point._

_Her team scattered to the winds once they hit the ground. She hurriedly called out locations for her various squad members. Lavender was to the back, high up to snipe and scope out the situation. Kota was on her six, Henry at her nine. She took point, ducking between cover. She could see some of Breck's squad as she approached, taking careful note of the lack of her twin among the three members of his squad approaching from the other direction._

_"Breck's not on the ground with his squad. Either he's holding back or he did something stupid." She winced at the crackle of her comms, taking a second to adjust her omni-tool to remove the painful static._

_"Not holding back, probably something stupid. He's not even trying to flank." Lav's voice flowed over the comms. Brett couldn't help the sigh of relief at the lack of crackle._

_"He could've made something explode before they started? He doesn't have Brett's technology skills." That was Henry's voice but there resounding chuckle from everyone on her squad._

_"Alright, enough chitter. Henry, Kota, go to flank either side. Lav wait for my signal." She called over the comms, taking cover behind a low crate, shifting her assault rifle in her grip. She still hated these missions, hated taking lives if she was the one to shoot first. "Okay. Patching us into Squad Two's comms." Her hand was quick across the orange screen above her wrist. The voices of Breck's squad filled her ears._

_"He shouldn't-"_

_"He is-"_

_"Why aren't we-"_

_"What the hell is going on," Brett snapped, the comm falling silent. "Where's Breck?"_

_"Private channel? No idea, he disappeared after we were dropped off." Alice, the other sniper in their battalion stated. "We're running blind Brett."_

_Of course! Of course her brother has to do something stupid and run off to God knows where. She barely restrains a scream of annoyance as she starts to plan._

_"Okay, fine, we can work with this. Alice can you get somewhere high on point?"_

_"Yeah, moving now."_

_"Good. Quinn, Pat can you flank from your side?" She didn't know where else to put those two, they had only been added to the battalion recently and she still didn't know what they were proficient with._

_"Yeah we can Brett."_

_"Do that. On my mark we'll go."_

 

Ryder let out a weak laugh, knocking Jaal from his focus on her story back to her face. 

"Breck did things like that a lot. Randomly disappear...leave me to handle something important. Kinda like now," she explained, blinking up at him.

"He knows you can handle yourself," was all he said but it drew a partial smile from her.

"I guess so."

 

_Brett took a few more paces forward, putting herself in the thick of things. The original plan had failed and now she was stuck against the small building that they needed to get into. There were more people there than they had originally thought, a mini army to protect a rogue scientist. Quinn was somewhere off to her right, protecting Kota from any attackers. Henry had pulled back to Lav when she called for enemies rounding on her position. Pat was to her left, ducked by some crates. The only person she knew who wasn't in a flaming pit of hell was Alice, who was picking off whoever she could see._

_A frustration headache was mounting behind her eyes as she took out another person, however she caught a flicker of blue hair darting between crates and her anger rose. She took off across the field, moving behind cover as she rounded on the blue haired man. She grabbed his shoulder. Honestly, spooking her brother was a bad idea. She knew the consequences all too well from previous incidents in her childhood but when he rounded on her, hand and sharp nails aimed at her face her stomach dropped._

_He caught her hard enough to knock her off balance and onto the ground, her right cheek felt like it was on fire._

_"Dammit Breck!" She yelled, blearily blinking at her twin. Through the tears in her eyes she could see his look of horror. She pushed herself up, grabbing her gun. "We'll talk about this later, right now we've gotta get in there." She gestured at the building as she pressed herself against the crate they were behind._

_"That's what I was trying to do, Brett," he snapped, coming out of his stupor._

_"Well you aren't doing a good job of it. If I didn't know your hair I would've shot you on accident."_

_"Well...good thing you didn't," he sighed, "how many left?"_

_"I'm thinking eight. What do you say about putting an end to this?" She grinned now, electing to ignore the blood dripping down her face for now. Breck echoed her grin._

_"Let's give them hell." Breck was the soldier of the two, the man with the plan and the guns to get it done. He launched himself over the crates and into the fray. Brett switched gears, going for her pistol instead of her rifle as she followed him into the fray, a blur of blue biotics._

_Within minutes the field went silent as the remaining enemies went down under a hail of twin terror. Brett's dark hair was plastered to her face by sweat and blood but she stood, hand swiping over her omni-tool to activate the comm channel._

_"Check in. Brette and Breck Ryder, minor injuries and standing"_

_"Quinn here, Kota's fine, just a–"_

_"I can answer for myself Quinn," Kota cut in, "few cuts and bruises. Nothing that can't heal quick." Brett quirked a smile, rounding on the shed-like building._

_"Henry checking in, took a bullet to the arm but doing okay otherwise."_

_"Lav, minor burns." Short and simple, perfect for the check in. Pat just gave her a wave, he was also approaching the building._

_"Pat's here with us, Alice?"_

_"Fine and dandy." And finally whatever tension was left in her shoulders released, their squad had made it with minimal injuries._

_"Collecting target now, everyone gather at the building and call for extraction." That was Breck, flashing a grin at his sister as the door slid open. She stayed outside with Pat, letting her annoyance of a twin bring the rogue scientist out._

_Now they just had to wait._

 

"You startled your brother...so he scarred you?" Jaal was amazed, looking at those scars now. Ryder looked up at him, those odd eyes filled with mirth.

"Yeah, he's a react first...ask questions later sort of guy. That wasn't...the first time and probably won't be the last."

"He came here too?"

"Mmhm...he...there was an accident...when we first got here. He's...in a coma...no idea when he'll wake up...if he'll wake up." She winced as she moved herself to sit more on her own. The vulnerability that had been in her eyes, on her face, during her story was fading. Back to Pathfinder, back to work. He had to scramble to his feet to make sure she didn't fall as she stood.

"Ryder you sh–"

"Peebee's taking too long. If anything we'll meet them half way." She flashed a weak grin and trudged on. He stared after her for a moment then hurried to catch up to her, mainly to make sure she didn't fall.

Unpredictable to the core.


End file.
